LAist

There are at least 63,000 students with disabilities in the Los Angeles Unified School District. For these students, the district’s cellphone ban has implications beyond missing texts from friends or losing the option to scroll social media at lunch. Families told LAist their children’s phones help them control medical devices, cope with anxiety, and regulate their emotions. While students with disabilities can be exempted from the Los Angeles Unified cellphone ban, that requires families to assert their rights. Without an exemption, students can lose access to a valuable learning tool, and the policy may also put students in the awkward position of sticking out from their phone-less peers. 

Denise Marshall is skeptical of cellphone bans. She said that they may be a barrier because families have to assert a right and go through the process rather than it being automatic. Marshall said families of students who want to ensure their child’s access to personal technology can call a meeting of their child’s IEP or 504 Plan team to discuss adding an accommodation that specifies how the device is used to benefit the student. But she’s also worried that students may feel too uncomfortable being the only ones in their class with access to a phone to use the device to their benefit.